QuotedPartHow do I quote Davenport screw machine parts?
By Touko Ursin, co-founder of QuotedPart
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Quote a Davenport part from four numbers: the cycle (the slowest station plus the index, because all five spindle positions cut at once), the cam and tooling setup per lot, the bar each part uses including the cut-off and the bar's remnant, and any secondary operation the machine can't make. On our worked 12L14 bushing the slowest station is the cut-off at 1.76 seconds, so the cycle is 2.16 seconds, about 1,666 parts an hour. With six hours of changeover and an hour of cam layout, it prices at $1.34 each for 1,000, $0.51 for 10,000 and $0.43 for 100,000 at a 30% markup.
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Step 1: time each station, then take the longest
A Davenport Model B holds five spindles that index around the tool positions. The cross slides form and cut off; the end-working tools drill, ream, tap or die-thread. Every position cuts during the same dwell and one finished part falls at each index. So you don't add operations together. You time each station on its own and the slowest one sets the pace.
For the bushing (Ø0.375 × 0.800 in, a 0.250 in step, a 0.125 in through bore and one groove), our pricing engine times the stations like this in 12L14, which it treats as 0.8 times as free-cutting as 360 brass. The cut-off takes longest because the tool has to travel the full radius. Add 0.4 seconds for the index and tool approach and the cycle is 1.76 + 0.4 = 2.16 seconds. The machine's fastest feed gear, 0.8 seconds, is the floor for any part.
| Station | Seconds | Sets the cycle? |
|---|---|---|
| Form (turned-away volume) | 0.85 | No |
| Groove (cross-slide plunge) | 0.90 | No |
| Drill (split over two end-working positions) | 1.41 | No |
| Thread (tap or die) | 0.00 | No |
| Cut-off (the radius) | 1.76 | Yes |
| Index and tool approach | 0.40 | Always added |
| Cycle per part | 2.16 |
Step 2: price the cycle at the machine's rate, with no learning curve
QuotedPart's Davenport work center starts at the shop's CNC lathe rate less 15%, $75 an hour in the US catalog, because one operator tends several screw machines. 2.16 seconds at $75 an hour is $0.05 of machine time per part. The cams set the pace, so the 100,000th part takes as long as the first: QuotedPart prices the cycle flat at every quantity, where its CNC routings get a little faster per part at volume.
If your machine runs this part on a different feed gear, type the cycle you've proven. The quote moves by exactly that many seconds at the work center's rate, plus markup, on every part.
Step 3: put the cams and changeover on the lot, not the part
The Davenport center carries 360 minutes of setup (cams, form tools, feed fingers and collets changed and the first parts proved) and the routing adds 60 minutes of cam layout for a new job at the programming rate. That's $545.00 of the 485.5 setup minutes before inspection and the secondary's own setup. Spread over 1,000 pieces it is real money per part; over 100,000 it rounds to nothing.
This is why screw machine shops set a minimum lot. On our numbers the same bushing costs $3.94 each on the Davenport at 250 pieces against $3.25 on a Swiss, and the Davenport wins from around 500. QuotedPart's default Davenport minimum lot is 1,000; below it, parts route to the Swiss or the lathe unless the estimator picks the Davenport.
Step 4: bar per part, cut-off and remnant
The bar is the next standard size over the turned diameter, 7/16 in round for this 0.375 in part. Each part uses 0.997 in: its 0.800 in length, 0.079 in of facing and the 0.118 in cut-off. A 12 ft bar leaves a 5.9 in remnant, so it yields 138 parts and 100,000 parts need 725 bars before scrap. Check your cut-off blade width: a wider blade on a short part changes the bar per part more than any other single number.
Material also changes the cycle, not just the bar cost. The table runs the same bushing in four bar materials at 10,000 pieces.
| Material | Machinability factor | Cycle s/part | Bar stock/part | Price each |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steel 12L14 | 0.8 | 2.16 | $0.05 | $0.51 |
| Brass 360 | 1.3 | 1.48 | $0.29 | $0.81 |
| Aluminum 6061-T6 | 1 | 1.81 | $0.07 | $0.52 |
| Stainless 303 | 0.4 | 3.92 | $0.20 | $0.75 |
Step 5: price the secondaries the screw machine can't do
The 1/16 in cross hole can't be drilled on a standard Model B, so it goes to a secondary operation: parts loaded into a drill jig on a mill at volume, about a load plus a short drill cycle each. At 10,000 pieces that secondary is $0.19 per part against $0.05 for the Davenport cycle. Cross holes, flats and slots are where screw machine quotes go wrong most, because the screw machine's speed makes the rest of the part look free.
After that come tumble deburring and washing in bulk ($0.04 a part here) and first-article inspection on the lot. In-process gauge checks are the screw machine operator's job and sit in the Davenport rate. A tight tolerance, a ground diameter or a CMM program adds its own operation when the drawing calls for it.
| Quantity | Lot cost | Lot price | Price each | Lead days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $1,030.00 | $1,340.00 | $1.34 | 17 |
| 10,000 | $3,900.00 | $5,100.00 | $0.51 | 21 |
| 100,000 | $33,000.00 | $43,000.00 | $0.43 | 30 |
Assumptions for the Davenport example
- • Fictional 12L14 bushing: 0.800 in long, Ø0.375 in with a Ø0.250 × 0.300 in step, Ø0.125 in through bore, one groove, one Ø1/16 in cross hole; no thread or finish.
- • Stations at Davenport speeds in free-machining brass, scaled by machinability: form 8 in³/min, a groove 0.9 s, drill 20 in/min split over two positions, a thread 2.4 s, cut-off 16 in/min of diameter (8 in/min of radius); 0.4 s index; 0.8 s floor.
- • Davenport $75/h, 360 min setup; cam layout 60 min at $95/h; secondary drilling on a 3-axis mill at $95/h; tumble deburr at $55/h; inspection at $75/h.
- • 7/16 in 12L14 bar in 12 ft lengths at catalog prices; 0.079 in facing, 0.118 in cut-off, 5.9 in remnant per bar. 30% markup, $65 minimum line charge, no scrap allowance, freight or tax.
| Operation | Rate/h | Setup min (lot) | Run s/part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cam layout | $95.00 | 60.0 | 0.00 |
| Davenport cycle: longest station + index | $75.00 | 360.0 | 2.16 |
| Secondary ops, 1 feature | $95.00 | 45.0 | 12.00 |
| Tumble deburr and wash | $55.00 | 5.0 | 6.00 |
| Inspect | $75.00 | 15.5 | 0.00 |
Opens a sample quote (box housing, milled) with every setup, run minute and quantity break. One click, no account.
Sources and limits
Claims are dated where they can change. Product calculations are examples from the stated inputs, not a promise about a customer's quote. Competitor wording is attributed to the source shown.
- Station times, rates, setup, bar sizes and prices on this page come from QuotedPart's pricing engine with the US starting catalog plus the Davenport a shop adds in Settings > Processes. They are illustrative, editable defaults, not a time study of your machine.
- Davenport Model B: five spindles; published 500–4,500 rpm spindle speeds and a 3 in longest length of feed. — source (checked 2026-11-06)
Questions
What's a typical Davenport cycle time?
Seconds. A Model B's feed gears run from under a second to well over ten seconds a cycle. In our model a small brass fitting with a tapped hole runs in about 3 seconds and this 12L14 bushing in about 2.2.
Why not add the operations together like a CNC lathe?
Because a multi-spindle cuts at every position at once. Adding form, drill and cut-off times overstates the cycle two or three times on a part like this one.
How long does a Davenport setup take?
Our default is six hours for changing cams, form tools, feed fingers and collets and proving the first parts, plus an hour of cam layout for a new job. Shops quote 4 to 8 hours depending on the job; set your own on the work center.
Can QuotedPart quote Davenport work from an RFQ email?
Yes, for shops that have added the Davenport. The drawing and quantities are read from the RFQ, and a round part that fits the bar and length limits, at a lot of at least the shop's minimum, is routed to the Davenport and priced at every break.
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